Heart of Steel

Chapter 17: Sleepover

Image Credit: Gloomyowl on Pixiv

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"brought food?" 

"You betcha." 

"good." 

"So you good? Ya just asked if I could spend the night and I got a little worried since you're not normally up at these hours." 

"need help. can't sleep." 

"You can't sleep? That's a first." Vulca joked, setting the snacks on the table as Frima got up from the bed to lean her head on Vulca's shoulder.

"horrible." 

"I can guess that much. Where do I fit into all this?"  

"sleep with me." 

Vulca's mind went blank for a second. Not that he wouldn't mind considering he's been friends with Frima for a long time. But would it be worth it? Vulca questioned whether he should oblige with her request and permanently change the relationship.

"sleepover. not that." Frima said, lightly flicking him on the forehead, a small amount of pink dusted her cheeks.

". . . I knew that."

"totally." Frima replied, giving an eye roll noticeable enough, that it'd be considered a Herculean Effort to do it again. Frima was already in her pajamas so she took Vulca by the hand and flopped onto his bed. 

"so. talk." 

"About what?" Vulca questioned. Frima gave it a brief thought before answering.

"want to hear. where you've been. what's new." Frima asked, cuddling up to Vulca as he got comfortable on the bed. 

"Well . . . a lot has happened. Met new friends, and lost some of them. I'm . . . still reelin' from it but I'm getting by like I always do. Oh, and I'm closer to finishin' my project and . . .  I guess I'm realizin' I haven't been around much to see you or the others. Sorry about that." 

"it's okay. missed you. understand why." Frima said softly, an imperceptible smile present on her face. 

"was worried. but proud of you." She added.

"Thanks. Wanna watch a movie to pass the time?" He offered. 

"cuddle?" 

"It's a given." Vulca acknowledged. It was to help her sleep after all.

"good." 

Following some setup, Vulca put on a classic movie originating from the days of the surface about a giant monkey and a giant radioactive lizard teaming up. The perfect film for two friends to watch on a lazy night. Frima grabbed Vulca's hands and adjusted them so they could better hold her. 

"better. comfy. warm. you're the best." Frima whispered. 

"You're better. After all, ya haven't gotten fed up with me at all in our time knowin' each other." 

". . . you. me . . . best friends forever?"  

"Aye, that sounds like a dream doesn't it?" 

"dream. yes." Frima snuggled up closer to Vulca, catching him off guard briefly but he got used to it rather quickly.

"you? dreamier." She added before finally drifting off to sleep. Something inside Vulca warmed at seeing her so at ease around him. He began to feel drowsy himself. His eyelids grew heavy as he joined Frima in the land of dreams.

~. . .~

The following morning, Liter was on her way to the kitchen when she noticed the door to Vulca's quarters slightly ajar. Curiosity overtook her and she took a peek to see what was going on. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight, as Vulca lay asleep with Frima asleep in his arms. Liter smiled softly at the sight as she closed the door behind her and continued on her way to the kitchen. There she was met with a surprise as at the table Syuen sat drinking a cup of coffee, while Centi shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh uh . . . Hi Miss Syuen."

"Was wondering when you would wake up. Took you long enough too. Where's the asshole?" 

"I'd appreciate it if you don't call my greenhorn that." 

"Right right . . . Where's Vulca." She asked, setting the cup of coffee down to add more sugar to it.

"He's not here." Liter quickly spoke up. 

"Oh is that so? A shame, I was going to have him fulfill a request for me. I guess you two will have to do." Syuen then slid blueprints across the table showing a variety of parts for a large mechanical contraption.

"See I need you to build these parts here. I'd much appreciate it if you two could have it done by the end of the week." 

"Hey, those are Vulca's blueprints! You can't just take them for yourself!" 

"Sure I can! If it's to keep Missilis on top, a little idea reclaiming from some poor excuse for an engineer never hurt anyone." 

". . . We're going to decline. Vulca's been workin', putting his blood, sweat, and tears into that. I won't help you steal my greenhorns work so you can put Missilis name on it!" 

"I'm not giving you a choice, you hag. I'm YOUR boss. You answer TO ME. I don't care if Vulca came up with it first, you'll help me or else I'm shutting down Mighty Tools myself and having you both mind wiped." 

"Y-You can't do that! That's not fair!" Centi protested. 

"Then you better get to it then. The choice is yours you know? Make it easy for me, and I make things easier for you. And if you spill a word of it to that bastard, I'll make things worse for you." Syuen hissed. "Understood?" 

" . . . Yes ma'am." 

"B-But boss! We can't do that to Vulca!" Centi further protested, clearly unhappy at the prospect of taking another engineer's idea to benefit another, let alone that of her best friend and brother-in-arms.

"I know . . . There's not much we can do about it, as much as I hate it too." Liter admitted defeat, hanging her head in shame, knowing how hard this betrayal would affect Vulca, and most likely destroy their relationship.

"Guess you'll have to suck it up, buttercups. The sooner we get started, the sooner I don't have to be here and can get back to more important matters." Syuen commanded, snapping her fingers to get them to hurry up and head to Missilis' R&D Department. Back to the sleeping quarters, Vulca stirred as he stretched Frima mirroring him.

"thanks. Slept well." 

"I did too. But . . . I can't help but feel like somethin' ain't right all of a sudden. Probably not important but the feeling is still there." Vulca mused. Frima noticed this and outstretched her arms.

"cuddle?" 

"Heh . . . Sure. I think I could do with that."

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